Management and Conservation of Renewable Marine Resources in the East Asian Seas Region: UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 65

The East Asian region lies between Asia and Australia, and between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It includes the mainland coastline and islands of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, and stretches from 20°N to 10°s and 9S°E to 142°E. The total area of the South East Asian region is reported to be 8.94million km2, which represents about 2.5% of the surface of all oceans 1978). Within the area are the Andaman Sea, Strait of Malacca, China Sea, Java Sea, Flores Sea, Banda Sea, Arafura Sea, Timor Sea, Celebes Sea, and Philippine Sea. The terrain of the region is complicated and features shallow continental shelves, deep sea basins, troughs, trenches and numerous coral and volcanic islands.